Monday, Feb. 15 through Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021
Issue No. 368
Golden State Warriors 117
Brooklyn Nets 134
Warriors, Kings & Sharks Schedules
367 - Sharks
Cal Bears 71
Colorado Buffaloes 62
Senior forward Grant Anticevich (#15) started the scoring early but after early fouls, spent time on the bench as the Golden Bears (8-15,3-13 Pac-12) toppled the visiting Colorado Buffaloes (16-6,10-5 Pac-12) in Pac-12 conference play at Haas Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 13. Caption and photo by Ron Sellers.
Freshman guard Jalen Celestine (#32) had the hot hand from 3-point range, going 3-for-5 on his way to scoring 13 points, a career high, and four defensive rebounds. Celestine also made his second straight start.
Cal's Matt Bradley (#20) scored a career-high 29 points to lead all scorers, including a key 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to lead California to a 71-62 victory. Bradley had his fifth 20-point game in his last six outings and moved up to 28th on the school's all-time scoring list. Caption and photo by Ron Sellers.
Late in the game Cal's Ryan Betley (#00) nailed a 3-point shot, with a screen from 7'0" center Lars Thiemann. To view a game photo album, visit our Facebook Page and be sure to LIKE us or visit www.ultimatesportsguide.net.
Hardly Trivial by T. Buff
It's the 70th anniversary of the NBA All-Star Game.
By the time you read this, there will be only one more day to vote for your favorites to be on an NBA All-Star team. Do it at this link, http://on.nba.com/3b1jdvE... My resource for this question sez only 1.4% of those questioned got the answer. Who was the first ever NBA All-Star game MVP? I was less than 2 years old when he did it...

(See answer below...)
Saint Mary's Gaels 61
BYU Cougars 79
For a Video Recap of the Saint Mary's Gaels vs. BYU Cougars on Saturday, February 13, click above
Saint Mary's Gaels guards Jordyn Boesel (14) and Emily Codding (23) watch a video from family members during the Senior Day ceremony before the game against the BYU Cougars at UCU Pavilion. Caption and photo
Saint Mary's guard Taycee Wedin scored 17 points in the Gaels' 79-61 defeat to the BYU Cougars at UCU Pavilion in Moraga on Saturday, February 13.
Senior Brianna Simonich finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
 Forward Amy West returned in her first action since November, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds. To view a game photo album, visit our Facebook Page and be sure to LIKE us of visit www.ultimatesportsguide.net.
Changes in the Game
368 - Amaury
Luke Voit, the New York Yankees designated hitter who led the MLB last year with 22 home runs, will have to swing a little harder this season. MLB has unwound the balls a tiny bit to reduce the number of home runs
Amaury

De-Juicing the Pelotas

by Amaury Pi-González
MLB has announced the starting dates for all 30 teams to report to Spring Training as well as the plan for a full 162 game season, with playoffs as in the past, pre-pandemic 2019. The Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants report February 17 to 22, for pitchers' and catchers' first workouts. April 1 is Opening Day.

In the last few years Major League Baseball introduced a bevy of changes. This 2021 season is going to have one of the most interesting changes in recent memory. MLB is altering the baseball and therefore hopes to reduce the ratio of home runs.

Recently the KBO, the Korean Baseball Organization, increased the weight of its baseball less than one twentieth of an ounce and moved the COR about 0.01 in 2019 and the result was a 33% decrease in home runs. MLB paid attention to such numbers and hopes to accomplish something similar.

After the league saw a record 6,776 homers hit in 2019 (the last 162-game season that was played), the home run rate fell from 6.6% of plate appearances in ’19 to 6.5% during the pandemic-shortened ’20 campaign. It might be the worse kept secret that baseballs have more juice than ever in recent memory, and combined with the new style of “launch angle” hitting, are home runs becoming boring?

What MLB is trying to do this 2021 season is De-Juice the Pelotas. And what it is going to do is basically reduce a 375+ foot fly ball by about 1-to-2 feet, which will return a reduction of 5% less home runs.

This will also result in an increase in doubles and triples. Another change pertaining to the baseball: MLB wants five more teams to store baseballs in a humidor at their home park. As of today the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners already store their baseballs in humidors.

Of these five teams, Arizona is the only one showing a decline in home runs once the humidor was installed. To this day, the other five teams which will add the humidor are unknown. Plus, my friends who are National League fans will be happy to learn there will not be a DH in 2021; everything stays the same.

Enjoy it. I am afraid this will be the last year with no DH. But not so quickly for those that like less home runs and more bunting, hit-and-run and strategy which seems to be absent these days. We are not going to regress to the dead ball era, where from 1900 until the arrival of Babe Ruth in 1919 nobody hit home runs.

Ruth hit a MLB record of 29 home runs in 1919 and that was Page One material back then. John Franklin “Home Run” Baker led the American League from 1911 to 1914 with a total combined of 42 home runs.

I do not think we are going to go that far back in the time machine. Note: Regarding juiced pelotas, in 2019 Astros All-Star pitcher Justin Verlander won his second Cy Young of his career, with a 21-6, 2.58 ERA and gave-up 36 home runs, the most in his stellar career. This is what he said in 2019 about the juiced balls: “Major League Baseball is turning this game into a joke”.

Stay well and stay tuned.
* * *
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio lead play-by-play voice for the Oakland A’s heard on KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary on http://www.sportsradioservice.co
Golden Gate Fields
Rombauer with jockey Kyle Frey wins the El Camino Real Derby $100,000 Guaranteed with a time of 1:51.64. Trained by Michael W. McCarthy.
In the Shadow of Obscurity
359 - Arif
359 - Pete
Author Arif Khatib (above left)
As a person who has traveled the world and chronicled his journey, and recently completed his memoirs for his family, Arif Khatib set out to create a book that would combine three of his passions: sports, history and social justice, while shining a much-needed light on the contributions of forgotten and unheard-of athletes of color. The Shadow of Obscurity: Toiling in a Reluctant Society realizes his vision.
Author Pete Elman (above right)
Pete Elman is a musician, journalist, author and teacher. Originally from Washington, D.C., he grew up loving rock and roll, sports and history. His father, a Justice Department lawyer who argued cases in the Supreme Court—most notably Brown vs. Board of Education—imbued in young Peter a strong sense of social justice.
Where The Bay Comes To Play!
The BEST Bay Area sports photos from
Michael Zagaris, Ed Jay, Rich Yee, Darren Yamashita,
Ron Sellers, Alex Ho, Rob Edwards, Kenneth Wong,
Timothy Reynolds and Larry Rosa 
"It's an ocean planet. As the oceans go, so goes the planet."
-- Bill Carvalho, Wild Planet founder and president

Wild Planet Foods has been honored with TWO awards by Whole Foods Market -- Global Supplier of the Year AND Environmental Stewardship! The annual awards recognize suppliers who embody Whole Foods Market's mission and values through a proven commitment to quality, environmental stewardship, organic integrity, innovation, and partnership.

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Prevention  -- 100 Cleanest Packaged Food Awards
Men's Health -- 125 Best Foods for Men
Prevention -- Eat Clean Best Packaged Foods
Every Day with Rachael Ray -- Brand New Buy
Better Homes and Gardens -- Catch of the Day
Clean Eating -- Clean Choice Awards
Natural Health -- 3rd Annual Good Food Awards
Runner's World -- Good Catch

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San Jose Earthquakes
Major League Soccer Announces Update to 2021 MLS Season Start
MLS Regular Season to Kick off on Saturday, April 17

NEW YORK - Major League Soccer today announced an update to the start of the MLS regular season.  Following the ratification of the CBA on Feb. 8, the MLS regular season will now kick off on Saturday, April 17.

MLS will announce the 2021 MLS regular season schedule in the coming weeks.
Oakland Roots
Oakland Roots Squad and Staff would like to wish you all a Happy Lunar New Year. To celebrate, proceeds from the Translation t-shirts in both Chinese and Vietnamese will go to Trybe, as we collectively develop solutions to ensure that every person, from every community, is treated with dignity and respect.
Hardly Trivial Answer by T. Buff
Of course the first NBA All-Star Game MVP was a Boston Celtic.
Pictured above (left to right), 'Easy Ed' Macauley, Boston coach Red Auerbach and Bob Cousy. Charles 'Easy Ed' Macauley was his name and he is a member of the NBA Hall of Fame. The best (to me) tribute to him can be found on his page in the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, found here, http://bit.ly/3p8ZkYR. This week I won't give up my resource for the question because of there being so many great questions I can use in the future....

Suggestions? Caught me off base for misinformation?
One.T.Buff@gmail.com is where you can find me...
368 - Steph
Montrose, Colorado
For the best real estate listings homes and property on
Colorado's Western Slope, visit www.montrosecoloradorealestate/PropertySearch.html
In the House!
The 2019 Fall/Winter edition of the Ultimate Sports Guide, a San Francisco Bay Area sports reference publication published twice a year for avid Bay Area and Northern California sports fans, is in the house. The Ultimate Sports Guide is distributed free of charge or may be ordered via subscription. Each seasonal edition provides professional and collegiate team coverage through commentary, photo essays and player profiles. To order, visit www.ultimatesportsguide.net or send $5 to: Ultimate Sports Guide,
P.O. Box 4515, Berkeley, CA 94704. Write theultimatesportsguide@gmail.com
or call (510) 845-2035. Cover photo: Rich Yee. 
Back Issues
not to be missed!
Offering superb photography and
entertaining chronicles


Click here for 2019 editions.

Weekly Bay Area
Sports Calendar
Monday, Feb. 15 through
Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021

Monday, February 15
Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m.
Sacramento Kings vs. Brooklyn Nets, 7 p.m.
San Jose Sharks vs. Anaheim Ducks, 7:30 p.m.
Stanford Cardinal (WBB) @ Oregon, 4 p.m.
USF Dons (WBB) vs. Nevada, 5 p.m.
SJSU Spartans (MBB) vs. Nevada, 5 p.m.
SJSU Spartans (WBB) @ Nevada, canceled
Tuesday, February 16

Wednesday, February 17
Golden State Warriors vs. Miami Heat, 7 p.m.
Thursday, February 18
Sacramento Kings vs. Miami Heat, 7 p.m.
San Jose Sharks @ St. Louis Blues, 5 p.m.
Cal Bears (MBB) @ Washington State, 7:30 p.m.
Stanford Cardinal (MBB) @ Washington, 8 p.m.
Saint Mary's Gaels (MBB) @ Gonzaga, 6 p.m.
USF Dons (MBB) vs. Loyola Marymount, 6 p.m.
Saint Mary's Gaels (WBB) @ Loyola Marymount, 6 p.m.
Friday, February 19
Golden State Warriors @ Orlando Magic, 4 p.m.
SJSU Spartans (MBB) vs. UNLV, 6:30 p.m.
Cal Bears (WBB) vs. Arizona, 12:30 p.m.
Stanford Cardinal (WBB) vs. Arizona State, 7 p.m.
SJSU Spartans (WBB) @ UNLV, canceled
USF Dons (WBB) vs. UNLV, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 20
Golden State Warriors @ Charlotte Hornets, 4 p.m.
Sacramento Kings @ Chicago Bulls, 5 p.m.
San Jose Sharks @ St. Louis Blues, 5 p.m.
Cal Bears (MBB) @ Washington, 7 p.m.
Stanford Cardinal (MBB) @ Washington State, 1 p.m.
Saint Mary's Gaels (WBB) @ Pepperdine, 3 p.m.
USF Dons (WBB) vs. Santa Clara Broncos, 2 p.m.
Sunday, February 21
Sacramento Kings @ Milwaukee Bucks, 5 p.m.
Cal Bears (WBB) vs. Arizona State, 1 p.m.
SJSU Spartans (MBB) vs. UNLV, TBD
SJSU Spartans (WBB) @ UNLV, canceled
Enjoy the
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Many people -- maybe even you -- have been getting out on their bikes more during Shelter-in-Place. "Check for Bikes" clings and bumper stickers are great ways to keep bicyclists safer out there on the road by promoting awareness by drivers to share the road. Keep safe out there and keep your neighbors safe by using or passing along vinyl clings for inside a car window or windshield and
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The Ultimate Sports Guide is very appreciative to the ongoing contributions made by former staff photographer Kenny Karst, now retired. Mr. Karst continues to contribute through helpful ideas and his archives.